Rumpy Pumpy Soup

Yes, the Hobbits are finally coming off their diet and so I offer the following recipe from The Hairy Biker show 'Mum Knows Best' for your tastebuds.

This is the sort of recipe that begs you to serve it with home-made bread and is just the sort of thing I believe dear Sam may have rustled up for Frodo after their quest. Hearty, filling and perfect for a cold winter's day like today.

Ingredients:
About 2 litres ham stock (I'm a vegetarian so I just used vegetable stock)
450g carrots, peeled and chopped
225g turnip or swede peeled and chopped
340g onions, finely chopped
Any other ‘secret’ veggies, such as sprouts,
Leeks, finely chopped cabbage, even a can of chopped tomatoes (I always put a tin of tomatoes in)
225g red lentils
Salt and pepper

1.To make the stock the night before with a ham bone or hock so the flavour can develop.

2.Cook the vegetables in the ham stock until soft, then add the lentils. Stir frequently at this stage, as lentils can burn quite easily.

3. If you have made the stock with a ham hock, remove any meat, chop it and add to the soup. Season to taste.

Maureen sometimes adds chunks of potato to cook in the soup to make it more filling, or stirs in 1–2 teaspoons of ground cumin to give it a curry flavour.

This recipe is taken from Mums Know Best: The Hairy Bikers' Family Cookbook.

(This is an old post from last year and so the Hobbits have been off their diet and are now back on it again! This recipe is actually quite a good one if you're on a diet as it's mostly vegetables, though the lentils will cost you some Weight Watcher points, and unfortunately you wont be able to have a large hunk of bread and spread it with butter! But, Weight Watchers do sell mini baguettes that you bake at home and they're quite low in points.)